


There isn't going to be a happy ending, right?

by Lynn_Stewart



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Miraculous Swap Week, Stolen Miraculouses (Miraculous Ladybug)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 16,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25566907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lynn_Stewart/pseuds/Lynn_Stewart
Summary: A late-night chase through the empty streets of Paris end badly for Misterbug, Fennick and Sting.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note: This story contains some bad language and subtle suggestive themes. All characters are 23-25 but the characters in the show are 13-15

The infamous crime boss, Ladynoire stuck her head out the stolen police car window, mocking the following police lights, and the ladybug, fox and bee themed heroes. Misterbug, Fennick and Sting had been tracking them down for what felt like months at this point, devising ways to track their next move but their plans seemed too sporadic, but at the same time, very well thought out. The cool early spring breeze blew quickly threw Shelly’s shoulder-length, brown to jade green hair. 

Her octagon printed hood had blown off her head and was now flapping behind her in the window as she held the shelter around the car tightly. Queen Cobra spun the wheel quickly, drifting into a side street and continuing to zoom down the empty late-night streets, waking the surrounding homes in the process. 

As Ladynoire turned around to view the front street, she spotted a fast-approaching railroad crossing, the red lights flashing to indicate an oncoming train as the wooden bars lowered. “We have a problem!” Ladynoire exclaimed, poking her head over the top of the car. Panic set in as she saw Shelly struggling to keep up the shelter around the car. 

“Yeah, I know!” She said through her teeth, looking up for a brief moment. Before Ladynoire could debate with Queen Cobra on what to do, she felt the car run through the wooden barrier and continue on its way, the speeding train blocking off the chasing police cars.

“Great thinking Chloe!” Ladynoire peeked behind the driver’s seat, seeing an impressed smirk on her face. All they had to do now was get rid of the superheroes that leapt determinedly across the rooftops of downtown Paris. Ladynoire smashed out the back window and climbed out, digging her claws into the underside of the car. 

“Cataclysm!” She exclaimed before letting her hand run along with the cement. As the shelter fell and Shelly retreated to the back seat of the car, the ground beneath them broke into the sewers, Queen Cobra not stopping for a second and letting the sewer water splash onto the front window. 

“Damn it….” Misterbug sighed, watching the car disappear under the road. The sewers were so easy to get lost in and hard to find a car going 125 kilometres an hour. Fennick fell to the ground, feeling his knee’s buckle under him from the almost thirty-five minutes of high-speed chasing. 

“How do they keep getting away?” Sting asked, flipping his yellow-tipped hair out of the way. Misterbug sat into his right hip, placing his hands loosely on his waist. 

“They obviously know what they’re doing, that’s for sure,” Fennick stood up, still sweating from the sudden exercise. It had been a peaceful night on patrol duty. 

The three heroes were sitting atop Notre Dame listening in on a nearby police radio scanner when a sudden string of numbers was said into a walkie talkie. “211A, 487, 213, 215,” The static said before breaking into another responder’s voice. Robbery alarm, grand theft, illegal use of explosives and carjacking. 

“What if we brought in more heroes, you have the miracle box, right Adrien?” Fennick looked out into the city, hearing his necklace flash. 

“Yes, but we need someone who already knows what they’re doing,” Misterbug thought for a moment, not knowing who to bring in. Sting sighed, preparing to steer the conversation in another direction. 

“Did we hear any news about Kagami?”

“Not yet, her family hasn’t seen her in three weeks and police are assuming the worst,” 

  
  


Meanwhile, Marinette, Alya and Chloe were celebrating their victory with Kagami as they sat next to a mountain of cash, chatting about what they would do with it. “Can’t they track the stolen money if we use it?” Chloe asked, sipping from her champagne glass. 

“Yes, but what if we moved it over to our bank accounts a small amount at a time,” Alya furrowed her eyebrows, looking at Kagami who was sitting across Marinette’s lap, swirling around her red wine in a glass slowly. They sat in a secluded mansion, surrounded by forest and away from the public eye. They had killed the person who owned the land, claimed them as missing then claimed they ‘destroyed the building’, so their hideout was unknown to the government. 

“Yes, we could do that, but we have bigger problems on our hands,” Kagami explained, standing up and making her way to a bulletin board that was decorated with photos of the hero trio and possible suspects, all connected with red strings. “We need to figure out who these three are, or at least one of them,” 

“Well, This probably doesn’t help but Misterbug has most of the miraculous at his hand,” Marinette explained, giving her kwami another piece of expensive camembert cheese. Plagg didn’t care whether or not he was on the good or bad side, as long as he was fed, he was fine. 

“How come?” Alya asked, resting her elbows on her knees. 

“Misterbug was made the new guardian, after Master Fu of course,” Marinette explained. 

“And how did you get the ring taken away?” Chloe teased, knowing that Marinette didn’t like talking about her former partner.

“When I got too ‘power-hungry’ he took the ring away,” She explained. He still hadn’t known who Ladynoire was, since he had asked for it deliberately and she complied, already formulating a plan to get it back. 

“Power-hungry?” Kagami asked. 

“Yeah, he got mad only because I joked about killing Hawk Moth and ruling Paris with an iron fist,” She nodded, only to receive a strange look from the others. “Okay maybe I didn’t so much as joke about it more than I did suggest it and maybe I went a little overboard but that’s not what I meant,” 

Kagami rolled her eyes at the comment before pinning a picture of the miracle box to the board. “Why wasn’t this mentioned before?” Wayzz asked. Wayzz was completely against the crime lifestyle but wasn’t given a choice. It wasn’t like Alya was mistreating him, but he could only persuade them into doing the right thing, which never worked. 

“I didn’t think it was relevant,” Marinette shrugged. Alya and Chloe rolled their eyes in unison before looking back to the bulletin board. 

“Ok, anything we should know about Fennick or Sting?” Kagami asked, pointing to the picture again. The girls looked to each other, then back to Kagami with sorrowful eyes. They needed a plan, but they had no idea where to start. 


	2. Wild Goose Chase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misterbug is sent on a wild goose chase by Ladynoire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This story contains some bad language and subtle suggestive themes. All characters are 23-25 but the characters in the show are 13-15.

“What do you mean?” Luka asked, standing up abruptly from Adrien’s bed. Adrien held the miracle box in his hands, looking down at the empty spaces where several miraculous were needed. He knew where six out of the seven were. 

The bee bandana and the fox chain necklace belonged to Luka and Nino respectively, and the cat ring, turtle bracelet and snake bracelet belonged to Ladynoire, Shelly and Queen Cobra. The only miraculous he hadn’t known the whereabouts of was the dragon choker, one that was used by Kagami. 

“I mean, it’s gone,” Adrien shook the metal box lightly, panic finally setting in. 

“Did you take it out at all?” Nino asked, taking the box from his hands and placing it on the bed. 

“I would’ve known if I was planning on giving it to someone,” Adrien exclaimed, now frustrated at himself. He had never lost a miraculous and now he was in big trouble. If Ladynoire had gotten a hold of it, she could use it against them, just like how she did with the other miraculouses she had taken. 

“Adrien, it’s okay,” Tikki assured him, munching on a new cookie flavour than last week. Every week Tikki had a new cookie flavour at her disposal, thanks to Adrien’s generous offer to buy any new flavours he saw. 

“Nino, you might want to see this,” Trixx said, turning the volume up on the remote control with all his body weight. The breaking news title had faded to live footage of a helicopter, following Ladynoire and Ryuko down the streets of Paris. 

“Oh no…” Adrien sighed. He recognized the bobbed blue hair almost immediately. The helicopter only gave a view from above the pair, strange that it was only the two of. Normally, Shelly and Queen Cobra would join them. Then, as Adrien thought of what the reasoning for the pair being alone together would be, it hit him. “This is only a distraction!” 

“What? What do you mean?” Nino asked. 

“Shelly and Queen Cobra are doing something else, while Ladynoire and Ryuko distract the police!” Adrien exclaimed quickly, opening the window of his room. He was thankful that he didn’t live with his father anymore, and not having to worry about being caught while trying to sneak out. 

As Misterbug, Fennick, and Sting patrolled local banks and expensive stores, they watched as the helicopter in the distance followed down a street. Ladynoire was still on the run, but that was the least of their worries. 

“We can catch them later, we need to make sure Shelly and Cobra are stopped first,” Sting explained, watching as money flew into the air. They could only hold a certain amount of money between the pair, not much though. But Misterbug couldn’t simply stand back and watch as they almost got away, his instinct to follow the two. 

“Go find Alya and the car, I'll deal with him,” Ladynoire whispered to Ryuko who was carrying an open duffle bag of money over her shoulder. As Ryuko ran, Ladynoire was faced with a different problem, a more annoying one at that. 

“Hand. It. Over.” He seethed, holding his hand out. Ladynoire hung the bag out, the strap dangling from her finger. 

“What? This?” She placed a finger to her lip in a questioning way, mocking the innocence of an air-headed little girl. “If you want it,” She grasped the strap firmly in her hand, ready to throw it in the air. Misterbug remembered from their partnership days how good she was at throwing heavier objects almost across Paris. “Go get it!” She exclaimed, jumping into the air and kicking the bag towards the Eiffel Tower. 

The bag wasn’t going anywhere so he could retrieve it after. “Fine, you obviously don’t want it that much,” Ladynoire picked at her claws, as a woman would do with her nails. Her way of distracting him with conversation held throughout their partnership and now rivalry. Well, more teasing than conversation. 

“Where are your pals, Shelly and Queen Cobra?” He smirked, knowing that if he played this fight right, she would be cornered with no help. 

“They’re at home, relaxing with that mountain of money, you know the money we got away with last week,” Her tail swayed back and forth, showing her amusement about his loss. Misterbug stayed silent, not giving in to her lies of manipulation to make him frustrated. “Ugh,” She rolled her eyes. “You’re no fun,” 

Ladynoire jumped into the air, holding her baton in a baseball position over her shoulder. Misterbug spun his yo-yo, using it to act as a shield. The force of the shield flung Ladynoire back, her baton flinging out of her reach. Misterbug caught her within his web of a yo-yo. She was completely defenceless, but before he could take the ring from her, she summoned her cataclysm, making it impossible for him to reach. 

“Uh, uh, uh,” She cooed, wagging her index finger that was free in his face. “Do you want all of my teammates, or just me?” She asked. 

“Where are they?” He asked, ignoring her question. 

“As I said, they’re at home, relaxing,” Her and Ryuko weren’t a distraction, it was merely a setup. “Your friends are going to have a blast when they reach the bank just after the bridge,” She cooed, making a pun while giving away her plans. Misterbug turned around in horror, seeing Sting and Fennick making their way to the said bank. 

As Misterbug unravelled his yo-yo, freeing Ladynoire and running towards the bridge, Ladynoire waved teasingly, leaving in the direction that Ryuko left. The explosion in the background made the following helicopters leave, capturing the heroes’ actions. 

“Goodbye, Little bug,” She said to herself as she ran her cataclysm along the wall of a random building. She didn’t have anything against the building, she merely wanted to cause chaos and destruction wherever she went. 


	3. A surprising revival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Marinette, Chloe, Alya and Kagami mak their relaxed escape, they find out from the radio that someone survived the attack by them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This story contains some bad language and subtle suggestive themes. All characters are 23-25 but the characters in the show are 13-15.

“Wha-hoo!” Alya exclaimed, driving down the barren highway. They had waited until rush hour was over to escape as their civilian selves, knowing that no one would suspect them of having $4,000 hidden away in their trunk. 

“No more heroes to stop us,” Marinette leaned back, resting her hands on the back of her head as she kicked her legs onto the dashboard. Chloe and Kagami sat in the back, both looking out their respective windows at the passing by trees. 

“Are you sure they're all gone? No one survived?” Chloe asked. 

“If any of them survived that explosion, I’d be impressed,” As Marinette said that, she heard an incoming transmission from the radio station that was just playing an upbeat song. 

“An explosion just went off at the Byblos Bank! The miraculous team has been seen carrying unconscious victims out, but we still don’t know what happened prior to the explosion,” The reporter told. Marinette sat up in a panic. 

“Son of a bitch! That pesky bug got away!” She exclaimed, changing the radio station in anger. 

“Be impressed, Mari,” Alya cooed. Plagg cackled at Marinette’s mistake. 

“Oh, they’ll have something coming to them. Don’t you worry,” 

  
  


Meanwhile, Adrien was enraged at his failed attempt to capture Ladynoire and Ryuko. 

“It’s okay Adrien, you’ll get her next time!” Tikki assured him. Adrien sighed, knowing that her statement was true, but that still didn’t make him feel any better.

“I know, but I’m angry that she tricked me, and the others,” Adrien sat on his couch, resting his head in his hands. 

He told the interviewers that Ladynoire was behind this, but he didn’t mention that he had managed to catch her, then proceeded to let her go. His teammates' safety came before catching her. The footage the police gave him showed helicopters following Ryuko before she called upon her wind dragon and flying off, escaping effortlessly. 

“At least no one questioned how I knew Ladynoire was behind it all,” He didn’t like lying to Paris, but if they found out that he let her go, they wouldn’t trust him anymore and he needed the people of Paris to trust him. 

Adrien left his apartment, needing a break from his stressful situation. As he walked the streets of Paris, he bumped into a familiar face that he hadn’t seen for a little while. 

“Marinette?” He asked. She had changed quite a bit since he last saw her at graduation. Her pigtails were now replaced by a medium-length braid, one that reminded him of Ladynoires. He sighed inwardly. No matter what, she still managed to stay in his head. The navy blue pencil skirt that ended at her knees was complemented by a white button-down shirt that was neatly tucked into the skirt. 

“Adrien! I haven’t seen you in so long,” She smiled. She had gotten over her high school crush, and could now form a coherent sentence around him. 

“Yeah, what have you been up to?” He asked. She looked around, her mind quickly thinking of what to say. She couldn’t tell him that she was Ladynoire. 

“I’ve been working at my parent’s bakery until I find a permanent job,” She lied. It wasn’t a complete lie, she did help around the bakery with her parents from time to time. “What have you been up to?”

“I managed to convince my father to let me quit modelling, but I still work for him, helping him with designs and such,” He explained. Sure, being a superhero is a full-time job, but he still needed a way to make money. He reluctantly took over his father’s company after college. 

Marinette smiled, causing Adrien’s heart to flutter. He hadn’t realized how much he liked her since the end of high school when he suddenly noticed how she cared for him. “H-hey, are you free later?” He muttered out. 

“I’m free after 3:30 if you want to maybe get an early dinner?” She had managed to push the conversation further without him saying anything. 

“Okay, How about I’ll pick you up at 4:00 and we’ll go to Le Gabriel,” He remembered the restaurant from when his father had invited him to a company dinner. 

It was strange seeing his father actually interact with people in real-time. Before that point, he would try to avoid going out into the public eye as much as possible. 

“Great! I’ll be at my parent's bakery, helping during closing hours,” She smiled and waved him goodbye. 

Little did Adrien know, Marinette was on her way to Le Grande Paris Hotel to meet with Chloe, Alya and Kagami. They had been brainstorming ideas for ways to get rid of Misterbug for good. Once they got rid of him, taking down Sting and Fennick would be child’s play. 

“We should find out who he is first, then someone can take the miracle box,” Alya asked, reading through interviews of reporters and Misterbug. 

“Yeah, and someone could follow him!” Chloe answered. Marinette was watching the discussion in silence, focused on the news channel that showed various moments of Misterbug’s successes. 

“He would know if someone was following him, miraculous holder or not,” Kagami explained, skimming through the latest edition of a fashion magazine, a model for Gabriel’s company on the front. 

“Then how are we supposed to find out who he is?” Chloe snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “Sass, do you know anything?” 

“I am not allowed to say, Master,” Sass explained. Chloe sighed and rolled her eyes, moving to each kwami and begging for help. 

“I might know something, for a price,” Plagg narrowed his eyes at Marinette. 

“What do you want?” Marinette sighed, realizing that he would tell them something if they gave something in return. 

“A month’s worth of camembert,” Plagg admitted. Marinette complied, telling him that she would put in an order under the bakery’s name since they recently started using camembert in pastry orders with a side of the cheese. “All I can say is that his father was very popular, and so is he,” 

“Wow, Plagg, that was really helpful, thanks,” Chloe was slightly shocked at how much Plagg knew. Did all the kwami’s know that much and only Plagg was willing to tell? 

“See? My talents go unnoticed in this team,” Plagg complained. 

“Yeah, talents,” Marinette used bunny ears around the word. His talents included sleeping and eating, much like any other cat. As they thought of popular people whose son was as popular as his father, Alya had come by a quote from an interview. 

“Guys, look,” She held up a sheet of paper, Marinette taking it from her hand and reading the highlighted sentences aloud. 

“Reporter: What do you do outside of being a hero? Misterbug: I took over my father's company but luckily I have enough time to help out Parisians,” A spark of interest gleaned in Marinette’s eyes. 

“So we just need someone who is blonde, has green eyes and is very generous when it comes to helping people,” Kagami tapped her chin in thought. Adrien Agreste quickly came to Marinette’s mind but she brushed it off. There would be no way of him being able to be Misterbug who always seemed to be free whenever they planned an attack. 

“How about we focus on Fennick? We can focus on the other two for now,” Chloe asked. 

“Okay, Here is a picture of Fennick,” Kagami pulled up a picture of the fox superhero from a recent special in the newspaper. 

“Wait, Get a picture of Nino Lahiffe,” Alya sat up abruptly. She hadn’t seen her ex-boyfriend in person since the summer after high school but she knew about his recent mention on T.V about winning a DJ contest. Fennick and Nino looked almost identical, aside from the obvious differences in clothing. Both pictures featured the fox chain that hung around his neck, and Alya gasped. 

“Looks like we have one of the three already down,” Chloe smirked. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien spend a nice dinner-date together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This story contains some bad language and subtle suggestive themes. All characters are 23-25 but the characters in the show are 13-15.

As the clock rounded 4:00 pm, Marinette was waiting for Adrien to call her, telling her that he was here. She fed Plagg his last piece of cheese until she got home and waited with excitement. She just finished helping her parents to clean the bakery and she resorted to waiting in her old bedroom, the pictures of the model still hanging up. It was as if she had never left, everything was still in place. A sense of comfort came to her as she relaxed on her pink chaise, though the fabric did smell a small bit musty.

She couldn’t wait to update him on her life so far. Aside from her life of crime, she led a pretty normal life, helping out at the bakery, sipping fancy tea’s at expensive shops and sitting in the park as she designed clothing based on different features of nature. 

Marinette’s phone buzzed around 4:10, the tile name ‘Adrien’ showing on the screen. “Hello?” She asked. 

“Hey, I’m here,” Adrien said cheerfully. He told himself that he wasn’t going to worry about Ladynoire throughout this entire dinner ‘date’ with Marinette. Marinette quickly grabbed her side bag, containing her phone and wallet, and left her room to go down the stairs and just outside the bakery sat a silver car. The car was obviously more than what she could afford, well with money that she earned from her parents that is. 

“Hey,” she smiled as she stepped into the passenger seat and closed the door behind her. Adrien admired her outfit from head to toe. 

A pair of knee-length; tight; medium wash jeans sat at her hips while a light pink button-down shirt; adorned with slightly darker pink spots was loosely tucked in, letting a small amount of fabric to hang over the jeans. A collar accented her collarbone nicely while a matching jean jacket sat on her shoulders. She wore pink slip-on shoes to pull the look together. 

“Wow, you look…” He paused, taking in her beauty only to catch himself staring at her. “Great,” He settled for a word that a friend could use to describe another friend without coming off as creepy. 

“Thanks,” She smiled as he turned towards the steering wheel. As they passed by the occasional signs that sparked conversations, Marinette noticed the building she had destroyed a few days ago, still being rebuilt. Misterbug hadn’t used his lucky charm that day so there was no fixing the damages anytime soon. She smirked, remembering the look on his face as he realized her plans. 

“It’s crazy what Ladynoire did to the city,” Adrien noticed her staring out the window. The destruction she had caused got Misterbug in a lot of trouble with the police, even though he offered to help in any way. 

“Uh, yeah, I’m sure Misterbug will get her soon,” She quickly turned away from his gaze, not being able to hold back an eye-roll as the sentence left her mouth. 

As they sat in the restaurant, Marinette looked over the menu before her eyes landed on a delicious sounding dish. A bowl of seafood chowder sounded amazing to her, so she kept her order in the back of her mind as she chatted with Adrien. 

“So, what did you end up doing after college?” Adrien asked. He recalled her worry about which college she would apply too. 

“Well, I ended up applying to both colleges and both accepted me, so I decided on Paris College of Art,” She recalled the stressful day which she had to take a gamble with her future and pick a college. She hadn’t known what either college would benefit from her in the future, but she seemed to be happy with her past choice. 

“Oh, that’s great!” He smiled. The way his emerald eyes gleamed with interest when he listened to her talk made Marinette’s heart flutter, a common attribute she felt in high school. 

“What have you been up to?” Marinette asked. Before he could respond, the waitress seemed to appear out of nowhere.

“Can I take your order?” She asked, holding out a pen and notepad. 

“I’ll take the seafood chowder and a glass of water,” Marinette gestured to Adrien, who had seemingly forgotten to look at the menu amidst their conversation. Adrien quickly skimmed the items, as to not bother the waitress any longer. 

“I’ll have the steak with a glass of water to please,” He folded the menu together and handed it over to the waitress. As the waitress left, Adrien felt the pressure of Marinette’s stare, which he didn’t mind. 

“So, back to what you were saying?” She asked. “What have you been up to?” Adrien struggled to think of a complete story, as did she. 

“Well, I pretty much went from college into my father’s business and that’s it,” He shrugged, knowing that his life wasn’t as exciting as hers, well his civilian life wasn’t as exciting. They sat peacefully as they ate their food, commenting on the taste and Marinette’s casual compliment on another lady’s bag when she walked in. 

The car ride home was mostly silent, filled with the sound of the late-night radio playing some trashy pop music and the sound of the car engine running. “You can drop me off at the bakery, I left some stuff there then I can walk home,” She explained. 

Adrien was hesitant to let her walk home alone, but she was a strong girl and could defend herself, and he suggested, “Ok, but maybe get a taxi home,” Marinette nodded and watched as her old high school passed by. 

As they arrived at Marinette’s building, Adrien wanted more than just a meeting on the street and a small dinner. “Could we maybe do this again sometime, next week?” He asked sheepishly. 

“Sure, I’ll text you when I’m free next,” She smiled, waving him goodbye and went into the bakery, where her parents had left the stairwell light on for her. 

“Ugh, blue why did you stay out so long?” Plagg groaned as he watched Marinette sneak out the back door. 


	5. Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While out on patrol, Fenncik finds an interesting set of eyes, exploring them without thinking twice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This story contains some bad language and subtle suggestive themes. All characters are 23-25 but the characters in the show are 13-15.

As Fennick patrolled the late-night Paris streets, he noticed the smell of gas down a dark alleyway. After calling out to see if someone’s car had broken down and getting no reply back, he pushed into the dark lane. “Hello?” He asked, kicking loose garbage bags out of his way. 

His gaze was met with emerald green cat eyes near his feet. They glew inhuman like, and he could hear a purr coming from the animal. “Hey kitty,” He rubbed his fingers together, trying to get the cat to come towards him. The eye’s rose then stopped near the height of his shoulders. “What the heck,” Fennick took out his flute and began calling Adrien, only for his forearm to be grabbed by a figure behind him. 

“Hey, Nino,” A voice whispered in his ear before the cat eyes emerged from the darkness and hit him on the head with her baton, knocking him out. 

  
  


Nino awoke in an empty room, nothing but himself and a tape recorder that sat on a tripod in front of him. “Trixx?” He looked around, the ropes around his wrist and ankles holding him back. 

“Hi, Nino,” Ladynoire purred into his ear. Her index finger ran along his left shoulder, flicking off in a teasing manner. “I believe you are looking for this?” She dangled the chain just out of reach. His eyes widened in terror. If he wasn’t careful, they could easily keep him there for as long as possible. 

“I’m not telling you anything,” He seethed. Ladynoire stepped behind the tripod, angling it more and more.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be telling me, and Misterbug things. Well, he’ll see that when I send him this tape,” She smirked, poking the record button. She swayed her hips as she walked behind him, slipping her arms down his shoulders and onto his chest, letting them rest there. “First, say your name for the camera,” She cooed. 

“Nino Lahiffe,” He remained calm. He was a superhero, he had been in more stressful situations than this one. 

“And you are?” 

“Fennick, owner of the fox miraculous,” 

“Okay, Onto the questions,” She removed herself from the position and paced around him. She was nervous, told by the obsessive pacing back and forth and the way she fiddled with the end of her long braid. “Do you know the identity of Misterbug or Sting?” 

“Yes,”

“Okay, which one?” She asked, running her hand through his hair. 

“Both,” He complied with her questioning, knowing that staying silent could make it worse for him. 

“Okay, can you tell me who they are?” 

“No, and don’t try to nag me to tell you,” He looked over his shoulder to see a door open then close again. 

“Nino, how about you come and join us, it’s so much better here. No rules, just you and your freedom,” The anonymous voice said. 

The green of Shelly’s outfit caught his eye as she rounded around his shoulder. Great. Now he would have to deal with two miraculous holders to deal with.

“Y’know, you’ll eventually be stopped when Misterbug shows up,” He felt the tip of something sharp run along his chin, Ladynoire’s claw. 

“C’mon, you're his little guard dog,” She cooed. Shelly stood against the wall, staring down at Nino. Her death glare looked so familiar to Nino like he had seen it somewhere before but he couldn’t place his finger on it. 

“I’d rather be his guard dog than a criminal lowlife,” He answered. 

“Ugh,” Ladynoire huffed before pressing stop on the camera and taking out a chip from the side. “Fine,” She opened the door behind him and slammed it behind her. 

  
  


Nino sat in that room for what felt like hours to him. The more and more he sat, the more the rope irritated his wrists and ankles. The silence that lingered in the small room was broken by the sound of the door slamming open again. 

“Nino!” Misterbug called out. Sting quickly untied his ropes and handed him the fox chain. “Transform so we can get out of this hell hole,” 

“Trixx, let’s pounce,” He exclaimed before the orange hue surrounded him and he appeared as Fennick before them. 

“Here honeybee,” Queen Cobra’s voice echoed throughout the barren hallways. Fennick quickly called his mirage and made an illusion of Sting to cover their escape. Queen Cobra attacked the illusion and scoffed once it faded away. 

  
  
  


“Thanks for coming, dudes, but how did you find me?” Fennick asked as they leapt across the rooftops, far from where the building was. The early evening sun was cool compared to its afternoon, brighter state. 

Misterbug felt a big step into his plan to stop Ladynoire as he turned to look behind him at their previous path. They now knew where Ladynoire, Shelly, Ryuko and Queen Cobra stayed, or so that’s what he thought. 

“I was able to track your miraculous. Turns out it only has to contain a kwami to be tracked by another user,” Misterbug explained.

“So we’re able to track Ladynoire’s and the rest?” Fennick asked. 

The feel of fresh air in his lungs compared to the stale air from that room was amazing to him. Being stuck in there for only a few hours really did make a difference to him. 

“No, I tried that already but they seemed to have altered theirs, let's hope that that doesn’t stop us though,” He gave a small smile, the weight of his words tugging on the corners of his mouth. 

  
  


Marinette sat in silence in the dining hall of their mansion, bathing in her frustration. She lost Nino and let Misterbug getaway. They rid the building of any evidence and retreated to their mansion-like they always did. Leading Misterbug to where they stayed most would be pointless, and could ruin her plans so she settled for a mildly damaged house in the forest. “Blue, ya can’t be so…” He paused, already regretting his next words, “Blue…” He grimaced at the unintentional pun. 

“I’m not, I’m frustrated. He got away because I wasn’t careful and he was able to track that stupid chain.” She picked at the food in front of her, the soup she made almost twenty minutes ago was now cold and gross. 

“You’ll get him eventually,” Plagg assured her, a bit out of character for the usually pessimistic kwami. Alya noticed Marinette's deary behaviour as she and Kagami searched throughout interviews and meeting with the heroes. 

“Marinette, come help us, it’ll take you mind of things,” She held out a thin stack of papers. Marinette sauntered over to the coffee table, sitting on the ground and pouting as she skimmed over each sentence in interviews. 


	6. A Close Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While being chased by heroes after a late-night heist, Ladynoire must make a daring escape with an unconscious Shelly in her arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This story contains some bad language and subtle suggestive themes. All characters are 23-25 but the characters in the show are 13-15.

Shelly used her shelter against the hits that came from the red yo-yo, repeatedly thrashing at the mystically material. She had managed to keep the shelter around her and Ladynoire as they escaped on a stolen motorcycle. 

They’re plans had been working out perfectly. They managed to deactivate the bank alarm before entering but they were somehow caught escaping by only Misterbug and Fennick, Sting nowhere to be seen. “We’re almost there, then you can rest in the van,” Ladynoire assured her, panic and fear in her voice. Ladynoire was almost never scared that her plans would fail, and she wasn’t going to start now. She was only fearful for Alya’s health. 

“I-I’m trying,” Sweat bullets started to form on Shelly’s forehead as her body tensed while trying to keep up her power. “I am really,” The way she mixed up her words and her drooping eyelids showed how exhausted she was. 

“Drop the shelter!” She demanded, riding faster on the motorcycle. 

“No, I got this,” She lied. Shelly couldn’t let herself give up. She would be weighted with guilt if they got caught.

“I said drop it!” Ladynoire exclaimed. The handles of the motorcycle started to burn her hands, but she still pushed through. As the shelter dropped and Shelly fell onto Ladynoire’s back, Ladynoire sped up, seeing a ramp for a construction site. 

She sped up more and more and flew across the ramp, waking Shelly up a small bit. She felt the brunette sit up suddenly, only to latch on to her waist as they hit the ground with a thud. The motorcycle lost its balance and as they turned around a sharp corner, the motorcycle slid onto its side, the metal scratching harshly against the pavement and sparks flying from underneath. The motorcycle drifted into an alleyway. Ladynoire, holding Shelly in a princess carry, hit her back on the wall as she watched the two heroes block her main way of escaping. 

“It’s over, Ladynoire,” Misterbug seethed through his teeth. The look of horror in Ladynoire’s eyes quickly faded to a mischievous grin as she reached for her staff that was attached to her back. 

“Sorry, boys, but I think you’re wrong on that one,” She winked before extending the stick, vaulting her and Shelly into the air. Misterbug tried to follow them, assuming they would run across the rooftops but they were nowhere to be found. 

Marinette realised her transformation in an alleyway. The early morning sun trickling in over the horizon. She had pulled an all-nighter and wouldn't be able to sleep until the next night. She sighed, placing Alya to the side gently and taking out her phone. She found the contact titled, ‘Chloe’ and pressed it, calling her to give an address of where she was. 

“Jesus! What happened out there?” Chloe asked, seeing the scratches on Marinette’s face and the road burn on her cheek. Kagami quickly slid open the door to the back of the van. 

“We almost got caught, but I managed to get us out of there quickly,” Marinette explained, hoisting Alya up and began to place her in the van. 

“Come on, let’s get you home and I’ll take care of you,” Kagami assured her. As they drove, they watched as Misterbug and Fennick jumped from rooftop to rooftop, not caring if the spaces in between each building were too long for them. Kagami rolled her eyes, she now saw why Marinette seemed to hate them so much. 

They always seemed to have pride in the fact that they were heroes that everyone placed on a pedestal, Paris civilians completely rely on them for safety. They seemed so arrogant and cocky whenever they talked to reporters. 

  
  


When they arrived home, Alya was carried in by Chloe and Kagami while Marinette stumbled from the van, her body completely drained of energy. Her vision was blurry and she had to rest her hand on the brick wall of the entrance. The whole world seemed to be spinning and she felt like she was about to faint. 

“Marinette, are you okay?” Kagami asked, placing a damp, warm towel on Alya’s forehead as she slept. 

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” She answered. 

“Come here, you’re just tired,” Kagami took a hold of her arm, only for her to yank it away as she left for the office where she spent her late nights, well now early mornings. 

“No, no, I’m fine, but you need to go get some rest,” She smiled before retreating to her desk in the office. Not too long passed when Chloe, who was making an early breakfast in the kitchen, heard a loud sound come from Marinette’s office. 

Her and Kagami rushed in to see Marinette, asleep on the floor. They carried her up the long staircase and into her bed. 


	7. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a tiring chase the night before, Adrien has to see Marinette at a local restaurant for brunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This story contains some bad language and subtle suggestive themes. All characters are 23-25 but the characters in the show are 13-15.

As the sun peeked through the blinds of his windows, Adrien rubbed his eyes, denying reality. Despite the bidaily workout routines and the stamina he gained over the past two years, he still felt his legs sore from the high speed chasing the night before. 

He stumbled out of bed, making his way to the kitchen and opening cabinets mindlessly and hoping to find something appealing to his hunger. “Cereal.” He mumbled to himself. His brain was still too tired to function but he did have a lunch date with Marinette at…. 

He looked to the clock on the stove. His ’lunch’ with Marinette was in two hours, so he settled for brunch, skipping his starting meal and making a coffee. Tikki sat on the cushion of the couch that looked huge compared to her small size. “Good morning Adrien,” She smiled, quickly hovering near him. 

“Tikki? How long have you been awake?” He yawned, stretching his arms into the air, mimicking a cat’s way of stretching when it first woke up. 

“Since 9:00, you really must’ve been exhausted last night, huh?” She asked. 

“Yeah, did you get something to eat?” 

“Yeah, I had a cookie,” She smiled sheepishly, knowing that he wouldn’t be happy with her breakfast choice. 

“You should have woken me up, I could’ve made you something,” 

“Nonsense, you were tired so I let you sleep,” She smiled before getting another cookie from the pantry. 

While Tikki sat watching the excitement of the soap-opera show she had shown interest in recently, Adrien hopped in the shower and quickly cleansed himself of the worries from the previous night. As he stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, Tikki pointed out a marking on his arms. They were bruises from that night, a yellow tint over his skin. 

“Do they hurt?” She asked, poking at the bruise. 

“No, it must’ve only been a small bump of some kind,” He shrugged, not being able to think of what might have caused the bruises, but they were the least of his worries. He quickly changed into his outfit of the day. White polo with a navy blue loose jean shorts that ended just below his knees. 

As he arrived at the restaurant they agreed to meet at, he spotted Marinette sitting at an outdoor table, an umbrella covering her with shade. She tucked a loose hair behind her ear, her bold hairstyle catching his attention. The space buns that sat atop her head seemed to be securely placed on, but it was definitely her real hair. Fly away hairs on the buns complemented the shape nicely and her pink loose crop top with an image written on in white lettering looked amazing on her pale skin. 

As he followed the waitress to the table where Marinette sat, he saw the smile she had given him so many times in the past roll onto her face, a sparkle of energy in her eyes. She had a glass of orange juice sitting in front of her while a folded menu laid on the table next to it. 

“Hey Adrien,” She smiled. She stood up to give him a hug before they both quickly sat down.

“Hey, did you order yet?” He asked, feeling hunger creeping upon him. If he didn’t eat soon he would start to become hangry and he didn’t want to be cranky around Marinette. 

“I got myself an orange juice and one for you too,” She looked to the glass that was placed on a coaster in front of him. He must’ve been so distracted by her appearance that he didn’t notice the drink at all. “I hope that’s alright,”

“Yeah, Thank you,” He smiled before picking up the menu and eagerly looking at the dish names. He had never been to this restaurant before but he took notice of the decorative sign out front before as he passed by it on the street. 

“I’m going to get the salad,” She said to herself, placing the menu down on the table. 

“That’s it?” He asked, half-heartedly. 

“Yeah, I’m on a diet right now and my trainer wants me to eat healthier,” She explained, taking a sip of her drink. 

“Your trainer?” He cocked his head, matching his eyebrow. 

“Yeah. I’ve been seeing a gym trainer to help me exercise,” She explained. She needed to build up her stamina if she was going to escape from her crimes as Ladynoire. Adrien huffed, not knowing how to respond to her statement.

As they chatted throughout their lunch, Adrien noticed Marinette’s hand had lingered near his, placing it only a few inches from his on the glass tabletop. He didn’t mind it being there, but he took attention anytime she would move it, only to move it back a few moments later. When they were both leaving, he noticed how Marinette stayed close until she had to go to her car, and how her fingers brushed against his briefly she quickly pulled it into herself, fiddling with them in her hand. 

“Hey, Adrien,” Marinette asked, stopping just before she ducked into her car. “How about we make this a weekly routine if it’s okay with you,” 

“Ok, every Saturday morning at 12:30, we’ll meet here,” He smiled before getting into the driver’s seat of his car. Marinette did the same, waving at him as she left through her car window. The car she owned was a black Audi Sportback, decorated with a small cat decal in the back window. The decal was a simple cat outline, with neon green highlighting the eyes. 


	8. Saving the Bluenette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is fueled with rage and determination when he sees Marinette is kidnapped by Queen Cobra and Shelly

**Chapter 8**

“Adrien! You need to see this!” Luka burst into his apartment, holding his phone out to him. The phone played a loop of poor quality footage, a video that looked like it came from a security camera. 

“What is it?” Adrien asked, seeing Nino enter behind him. His heart dropped as he watched the video, it was security footage showing the street from a building at night, Marinette walking down the sidewalk alone when a van pulled in and took her with it. 

“Do we know who that was?” He didn’t question how they got the footage, he only cared about getting Marinette back. 

“It was…” Luka paused looking back at Nino for confirmation to say his next words. “It was Shelly and Queen Cobra. You can see the green-blue colour of Cobra’s suit and the shelter that was formed around the van,” He explained. 

“Let’s go,” He seethed, transforming quickly and running out onto his balcony, swinging from the edge of the railing to the city's view. 

  
  


“Jesus, you didn’t have to be so rough,” Marinette whined as she watched the van door close, Chloe realizing her transformation and letting her go. 

“Sorry, you said it had to be convincing,” Chloe muttered a retort. The scene was realistic for Marinette, so it should convince Misterbug. 

“Now we go back home and wait,” She explained, sitting onto the bean bag that was placed in the empty space behind the driver and passenger seat. 

As Misterbug approached the mansion from the woods surrounding it, he saw the van that displayed the matching license plate that was in the footage. “Are you in place?” He said into the earpiece. 

“Yep,” Fennick answered back, placing himself behind a wall of bushes that were behind the intimating house. 

“Yeah,” Sting landed nimbly on the rooftop, destroying all the cameras that could have caught him before. 

“Okay, I’ll go in first and find Mari,” He said in a hushed voice as he started to stand from his crouching position. 

“Dude, have you ever seen a horror movie in your life? Going in alone is how you get killed by….” Fennick paused, thinking of an infamous horror movie villain. “Jason or something,” He shrugged. 

“Yes, but this is an action movie. James Bond doesn’t get killed when he works alone,” 

“James Bond movies are spy movies, with stealth and sneaking,” Fennick explained.

“Can we please stop discussing movies and save Marinette?” Sting said, irritation in his voice. 

“Right, hero mission,” Fennick cleared his throat. As Misterbug got closer to the door, he quickly ducked behind a wide tree, seeing the door opening. He watched as Marinette, happily smiling, waved Shelly and Queen Cobra goodbye, both getting in the van that they had taken Marinette in. Marinette closed the door and Misterbug could only think to himself. 

“ _ How much were they paying her to act like she was completely okay? And why would they, did they know they would come? _ ” 

He couldn’t dwell on his thoughts, he needed to quickly save Marinette then leave without being caught. He pushed the door open, seeing an entry walkway leading to a grand room which held a large sofa, an eighty-one inch mounted T.V and an array of stolen items that Misterbug couldn’t name at the moment. He could collect the items after he got Marinette. 

As he wandered the silent house, looking for any trace of Marinette, he didn’t find Ladynoire anywhere either. He didn’t see her leave with Shelly or Queen Cobra, so where could she be? As he reached the top of the long staircase to the third floor, he saw a pair of glass doors, sitting aside each other. Sat on the marble floor, surrounded by various types of plants, he saw Marinette, peacefully grooming a small shrub. As he opened the door quietly, cautious of any oncoming ambushes, he heard her humming as her body swayed back and forth. 

“Marinette?” He asked. Marinette didn’t even flinch at the sudden appearance, as if she had known he was there the whole time. 

“Yes, Misterbug?” She said, still watching as the long scissors trim and shape the leaves into a sphere shape. 

“I’ve come to save you, now quickly before they-” His sentence was cut off by her quietly standing up. 

“Save me? You need to leave, now!” Her voice was stern and demanding. His earbud mic shrieked before the static cut in. 

“Fennick? Sting?” He pressed his index finger against the device lightly, trying to reach them again. 

“They won’t be coming pretty boy,” The glass doors slammed from behind him, Queen Cobra and Shelly standing with confidence. 

“Wha- Marinette?” He quickly looked behind him to see Marinette’s body glitching, it was only a hologram but how did they get her to look so real. 

“Did we trick you, little bug?” Ladynoire peeked her head around a tall plant that sat in a brown, fragile vase. “Do you have some kind of connection with this girl?”

Misterbug quickly positioned himself, ready to take on all three criminals. He was hit in the back with the turtle shield, knocking him to the ground while Shelly and Queen Cobra pinned his arms and legs to the ground. 

Ladynoire leaned over him, appearing from behind his head. “It’s over, Misterbug,” She bopped him on the nose before going in for a definitely non-romantic, totally platonic and teasing kiss on his lips. As she pulled away from the kiss, Misterbug’s lips moved on their own, chasing hers for another kiss. “It’s about time your reign was over,” She smirked, reaching for his earrings. 

“Not today you unlucky cat!” Sting cuffed the string of his spin top around her wrists, kicking the other two off of Misterbug. Ladynoire let out a deafening, cat-like shriek as she fell to her stomach, unable to realize her hands. Sting pulled her closer, dragging her struggling body along the marble floor. She kicked her legs, skidding against the floor like a toddler throwing a tantrum and her claws scratching the marble flooring. As Sting smirked down at the helpless kitten, Queen Cobra used her second chance. 

“It’s about time your reign was over,” Ladynoire smirked, reaching for the earrings. Queen Cobra quickly let go of Misterbug’s legs, running over and barricading the door shut. Fennick and Sting still managed to break through the glass and grab Misterbug before Ladynoire was able to get his miraculous. 

“Is Marinette here, or not?” Misterbug seethed, standing up straight. There was no way the Marinette he saw on the tape and at the front door wasn’t a hologram. 

“Marinette was released well after you got here,” Ladynoire smirked. When Shelly and Cobra were leaving twenty minutes ago, they transported stolen money and the rest of their belongings to an apartment building, dropping off the van with Kagami who was now staying peacefully at the apartment, now they were able to escape without having to come back.

“If you touched a hair on her head, I will raise hell on earth,” Misterbug seethed. The line struck something inside the raven-haired girl, did Misterbug care for her civilian self? Had she possibly known his civilian identity? His line left her powerless for a moment, and Shelly could see that calling upon her shelter and protecting them as the needle of Sting’s spin top thrashed against the material, making small cracks on each hit. 

“Ladynoire! Snap out of it!” Queen Cobra exclaimed, breaking the raven-haired girl out of her trance. 

“S-sorry….” She apologized, avoiding the irritating gaze that came from the blonde. Ladynoire quickly extended her baton, holding it like a bat as the green hue around them faded. 

As Ladynoire held her stick against Misterbug’s neck from behind, she gazed at the fallen superheroes. Queen Cobra managed to hit Sting with his own venom, paralyzing him and Fennick was held by Shelly’s shelter, unable to escape with any of his attempts. “See, Little bug?” She purred into his ear, her warm breath tingling down his back. “Your little friends are nothing,” 

“Well, at least they don’t attempt mass genocide,” He huffed. 

“That was one time!” She exclaimed, moving her head back from his ear. “Remember when I and you were partners, weren’t those days fun? Whatcha say you come with us?” She ran her finger along his jawline, stopping under his chin and lifting it slightly to look at her from above. “You’re much better off without those two,” 

His heart thudded, remembering the teasing kiss she had given him. “I’d rather die,” He narrowed his exhausted eyes at her, seeing her smirk move to a joyful grin. Without missing a beat, Ladynoire responded,

“Well, then I have good news for you!” She exclaimed. The shatter of Shelly’s shield broke her excitement. She watched as the turtle miraculous fell from Alya’s wrist, sliding across the glossy floor. 

Ladynoire quickly scrambled to get it, releasing Misterbug who immediately tried to chase after her. As Ladynoires hand captured the bracelet, a black-spotted red hand landed on hers, a blush coming to her cheeks. She winked, causing Misterbug to become flustered and weakening his hold on her hand and she grabbed the bracelet and rushed out the broken wide window with Queen Cobra, who was caring Alya in a princess carry. 


	9. A Surprising Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nino and the rest of the hero team is dumb-founded when Shelly's identity is revealed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This story contains some bad language and subtle suggestive themes. All characters are 23-25 but the characters in the show are 13-15.

Nino sat on the couch in disbelief, seeing his ex-girlfriend was now a renowned crime lowlife was the last thing he expected to see that day. 

“This should help us,” He sighed, leaning back onto the leather sofa. Now they could track Alya, seeing where she went and what she did, seeing who she stayed with most. 

As they pushed forward with their genius plan, Alya hadn’t been seen at all, not even to see her best friend, Marinette, who was completely fine and wasn’t harmed by Ladynoire at all, leaving Adrien with a sense of comfort the next time he saw her. 

“Milk, eggs and flour, got it!” Marinette checked each item off the small yellow line notepad. 

“Thanks, sorry I caused you guys so much trouble at the mansion last week,” Alya apologized, rubbing her right hand up and down her left bicep. 

“Alya, it’s not your fault, keeping up the shield is hard work,” Marinette placed her hands on Alya’s shoulders, taking a firm but gentle grip on her. The sympathetic smile that Marinette gave the brunette put her mind at ease, though a small bit of guilt still laid on her mind. 

“I know, but-”

“No buts, you protected us as much as you could, what matters is that your okay,” 

Marinette left for the grocery store, picking up the ingredients that were provided to her. As she scanned the aisles for flour, the yellow bag with a signature company symbol she had seen around the bakery when she visited her parents.

“Okay, now I can go home and check on her,” Marinette thought to herself before bumping into someone. The blonde stood before her, staring at her blue eyes. 

“Hey, Mari!” He smiled, making Marinette cheeks turn light pink. 

“A-Adrien,” She stepped back slightly, taken off guard by his appearance. Her nerves had been on edge ever since Alya was found out by Misterbug if Misterbugs civilian self knew her, he probably knew Alya too. “What are you doing here?” 

“I was looking for a meal tonight, for supper,” He grimaced, “Well, I haven’t been having much luck. I have no idea how to cook,” 

“H-how about you come over to my place and I’ll make you dinner if that's okay with you?” 

The suggestion slipped out of her mouth, not thinking of the consequences of her actions. If he saw the duffle bags of cash that sat in her living room, he would become suspicious of her and the last thing she wanted was to ruin her progress with her relationship with Adrien. 

“That sounds great, thanks, Mari,” He smiled. “Well I have to go, I'll see you later, around 4:30?” He asked, turning over his shoulder as he walked in the opposite direction of her. 

“Sure, sounds great,” Her voice trailed, lowering in volume as she left the aisle and proceeded to the checkout. She needed to quickly get home and clean, telling everyone that he was coming over. 

“Why did you invite him over?” Kagami exclaimed, aggressively stuffing duffle bags into a small storage closet. 

“I don't know, It just slipped out!” Marinette exclaimed from the kitchen. As she wiped down the stove, she heard a knock at the door. Kagami quickly ran to the kitchen and looked at Marinette in shock. “Is the Mona Lisa put away?” Marinette asked, quickly cleaning more and more of the kitchen. 

“Yes, and I told Alya to stay in her room and that I would keep her company,” 

“Good, as far as he knows, he thinks you’re still missing,” She explained. Kagami quickly went to her shared room with Alya, bringing the two bowls of macaroni that was made beforehand. 

“Hi Adrien,” She huffed, still tired from cleaning and getting pots out to cook. 

“Hey Mari, sorry I’m early, but I can help you with anything,” He smiled nervously. 

“It’s okay….” her voice trailed leaning to look at the oven clock that read 4:00 pm in green blocked lettering. “You can help with cutting the carrots,” She smiled, leaving the door open for him to come in. 

As he chopped carrots into small pieces, he noticed a familiar blonde come through the door. 

“Hey Marinette, I got a really weird text from Ka-” She paused, seeing Adrien standing over the kitchen counter. “I-uh,” She paused looking at the blonde.

“Chloe?” He asked. 

“Adrikins!” She jumped onto her childhood best friend. “I haven’t seen you forever!” 

“Hey Chlo,” He stepped back from the sudden attack. 

“Chloe, can you go check on Kira?” She asked through her teeth. Kira was a code name for Kagami if they ever had to say something about her in public. 

“Sure…” She quickly went to Kagami’s room, quietly shutting the door behind her. 

“And Kira is?” His voice trailed. 

“My kitten,” 

“Also, I thought you and Chloe hated each other,” He chuckled, confused as to why the two enemies seemed to be good friends now. 

“Apparently, her talents in stitching are unmatched, we actually bonded over that pretty much,” It wasn’t a complete lie, they did bond oversewing in college and they realized how both got tired of Misterbug’s heroic attitude and cocky persona, they both wanted to rule over Paris. 

  
  


As Chloe, Adrien and Marinette sat at the dinner table, they chatted cheerfully, Chloe being mindful of what she said to Adrien. One little slip of speech would make Adrien suspicious of them. Everyone now knew that Alya was Shelly, which put her at risk.

After dinner, Adrien and Marinette cleaned the kitchen, she could feel something between them. Something strong and passionate but she couldn’t place her finger on it. 

“Okay, the oven and dishes are all cleaned,” Adrien smiled, sighing as he dried his hands of water. Marinette hadn’t noticed but he had cleaned most of the kitchen, while she only dried and put away the dishes. 

“S-sorry I didn’t help more, I must’ve gotten distracted while putting away the plates,” She nervously smiled, hopping up on the counter. Adrien stood across from her, the small strip of space not providing them with lots of options to stand. 

“It’s okay,” He smiled, wiping away her guilt. His fingers were slightly pruned from the water, but somehow still soft to the touch, well what Marinette could gather by just looking at them. 

“Again, thanks for helping out with making dinner,” She thanked him. “Despite what you said early today, you’re actually a great cook,” 

“Yeah, but when I’m making it alone, I always seem to mess it up somehow,” He scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. Marinette could still feel the tension between them, but not tension like when she stood in the same room as Misterbug as Marinette, but a different kind of tension. “Marinette, I think you’re a great cook too,” 

“T-thanks,” She avoided his gaze as he had suddenly stood inches from being in between her legs. 

“Marinette, I actually wanted to ask you if maybe we could turn our lunch meetings to…” He hesitated, his expression and ego almost fragile to her. “Maybe sometime we could…” Marinette had suddenly realized what kind of tension was between them. 

She grabbed the neck of his tie and pulled it towards her, his lips meeting hers as his neck flew forward. His shock melted to pleasure as he moved closer, now standing in between her thighs and having his hand gently placed on the side of his neck. The taste of her lip balm was so familiar to him, one that he had tasted recently. 

“Thanks for dinner, It was amazing,” Adrien smiled, grabbing his coat from the coat rack. 

“No problem, if you ever want to come over, just call me,” She smiled, leaning on the door frame. They said their goodbyes and Alya and Kagami were free to roam about the apartment again. 


	10. A Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette comes home from a heist in pain after something very bad happens to her ring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This story contains some bad language and subtle suggestive themes. All characters are 23-25 but the characters in the show are 13-15.

“Damn it!” Marinette exclaimed as she stumbled into the apartment, startling Alya and Kagami. The robbery she swore she could handle on her own had gone downhill the moment Fennick showed his face, all alone. Plagg panted as he laid over Marinette's shoulder. The crack in the silver metal wounded the kwami and Marinette. It took a bash on her health and she didn’t know how to fix it. 

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Kagami interrogated. They both stood from the dining table, abandoning the game of goldfish that laid across the wooden surface. 

“It’s the ring, It cracked somehow,” She huffed, sitting down on the couch and finally being able to rest. She managed to stumble her way throughout the Paris rooftop paths, nearly tripping over her own feet as she felt sweat pelted down her face as the quick footsteps of Fenncik got closer and closer. 

“She and Plagg are resting, but I have no idea how we’re supposed to fix her ring,” Alya explained, quietly shutting Marinette’s bedroom door behind her. Kagami sighed, sitting down on the couch next to Chloe. 

“Maybe Wayzz knows something?” Chloe looked up at the brunette. Alya rolled her eyes, knowing that the kwami wouldn’t tell her anything. 

“He probably does but he didn’t even tell me how to drop the shelter when I first started, I had to learn that myself,” 

“Yeah, there’s a way to fix it,” Wayzz complied rather easily, despite Alya’s earlier statement. Alya furrowed her eyebrows at the kwami, annoyed that he easily told Chloe and Kagami anything but not Alya.

“Okay?” Chloe’s voice trailed, “And that way is?”

“You have to go to the guardian,” Any humour in Wayzz’s voice left, leaving the three with a sense of dread. 

“Okay.” Alya clasped her hands, pressing her lips together. “I’ll go tell Marinette that her time as Ladynoire is over,” Alya turned to leave her room, Chloe quickly placing her arm in front of her. 

“No, She’ll only say she can handle it,” Chloe sighed. Marinette was determined to stop Misterbug, and a little harm to her health wouldn’t stop her. 

“Fine, can she go on with the crack there?” Alya asked. 

“Yes, but not for long,” 

  
  
  
  


Ladynoire shot a bullet through the roof of the bank, people dropping to their knees in terror. “Okay, We can do this one of two ways,” She exclaimed, cocking her pistol. “One, you simply hand over the money and we can go on our merry little way, or two, we can empty the duffle bag of bullets we have,” 

“Excuse me…” A meek voice came from behind a desk. 

“What?” Ladynoire hissed, turning around to see a elder man, trembling at her voice. 

“I can show you the way to the vault,” He stood up nervously, pointing behind him. Ladynoire smirked, wedging her pistol in between her belt and waist. She grabbed the man’s cheeks, squeezing them as a grandma would to her grandchildren. 

“Well aren’t you the nicest thing ever?” She said in a mocked baby voice. “Guys look at him, doesn’t he look like the old man in every sob-fest movie,” She turned to Ryuko and Queen Cobra, still having the man’s face cupped in her hands. 

“Yes, now just get the money before-” Ryuko’s sentence was cut off by a crash through the overhead window, Misterbug and Sting falling down. “-they show up,” She finished her sentence, annoyance in her voice. Ladynoire quickly grabbed the man and vaulted over the desk, running in the direction that the man pointed. 

  
  


As Misterbug fought to follow Ladynoire, he was continuously stopped by Ryuko’s Lightning dragon stinging him in the back. As he stood from a recent attack from Ryuko, he saw Ladynoire, holding two duffle bags filled with money, escape from behind the desk. 

“Let’s go!” Ryuko exclaimed while running backward a small distance before Ladynoire suddenly stopped in her tracks and stepped back slightly. Ladynoire fainted into Ryuko’s arms, only to open her eyes slightly. 


	11. An Unexpected Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladynoire is in big trouble when Shelly and Fennick find her with someone she shouldn't be around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This story contains some bad language and subtle suggestive themes. All characters are 23-25 but the characters in the show are 13-15.

The crack in the ring got bigger each day, but only by a small bit. And it just caught Misterbug’s eye and he exclaimed,

"You couldn't handle the cat miraculous then, and you definitely won't be able to now," Misterbug taunted, gesturing at the cracked ring that sat on Ladynoire’s hand. 

“You bastard,” She seethed through her teeth, quickly standing in protest of Ryuko's attempt to stop her and pouncing onto Misterbug, knocking him onto the floor. “I am perfectly capable of handling the cat miraculous, I am the rightful owner and you can’t change that!” She exclaimed, scratching at his suit and causing tears in the material and his skin. 

“Ladynoire! Let’s go!” Ryuko exclaimed in annoyance and frustration. She hated how Marinette started lashing out recently, especially since her self control over her emotions had weakened from the stress of a broken miraculous. Her state was getting worse and she would faint at times. 

The infamous crime bosses fled, Sting, helping Misterbug up from his injuries while cops arrived at the bank with shattered glass and a small amount of blood on the marble flooring. Though they got away, Ladynoires state did give the heroes an advantage. The plans that involved Queen Cobra, Shelly and Ryuko didn’t work out most times, but Ladynoires cataclysm helped them a lot, which meant she was almost needed in each plan.

As Misterbug was patrolling the empty streets of Paris, he sat atop the Pont d’léna as he gazed at the stars. Calm endings to his patrols quickly became his favourite thing in the world once Ladynoire resurfaced. The stress of the day was washed away as he took in the cool late spring breeze that came from the water below. 

“The stars are beautiful tonight, huh?” A voice said from behind him. Misterbug jumped, whipping his head around to see the owner of the mysterious voice. His face fell flat when he saw the black cat, running her braid through her hands. 

“What do you want?” He asked, turning back around and grabbing onto the railings beneath him as he suddenly felt uneasy on the thin platform. 

“You’re not going to arrest me?” Ladynoire teased. He could easily arrest her but his body didn’t want to, his mind didn’t want to either. Every part of him told him not to harm her at all and he wasn’t sure why. He stayed silent to her question, knowing his answer would only earn a teasing or taunting retort. “I can see why you always come out here after patrols,”

“How do you know this is where I come?” 

“I sometimes come out here too, but when I see you I don’t have much choice,” 

“And why did you come here now? Knowing I was here,” 

“I-” She started, suddenly not knowing her reasoning. Well, she knew her reasoning for coming every night. It was their old meet up spot when they did patrols together. They would eat ice cream from a nearby cart that seemed to have disappeared over the years and would tell each other stories from their days as civilians. Each story of one shared a similar aspect of the others. “I don’t know,”

“How's your ring?” He asked, gently placing his hand on hers as she sat down next to him. 

“Wayzz says you know how to fix it,” His emerald eyes looked familiar to her, the way he gazed with such generosity and kindness. “Do you?”

“I’m still learning, Tikki is teaching me a lot but I didn’t know I had the power to fix a miraculous,” He looked back to the horizon, gazing at the moon's wavy reflection in the water. 

“Well, there's no way you would want to help me so…” He voice trailed, decreasing in volume to rest just above a whisper. His hand forced itself to move to her cheek, gently pushing her face to look at him. His body reacted to the feelings of when they were partners, how he would make sure she was special and wanted around people. 

“Even if you are a wanted criminal, I still want you to be okay,” He explained, feeling her gaze on him lower to his chest. The tears from her attack were still on his costume, despite the week that passed between the event and the present. 

“I’m really sorry, I lashed out and…”

“No, I’m sorry for what I said,” He kept his hand on her cheek. The warmth that radiated from her pink-tinged cheek was comforting to him. Her hand rested on his as she rested her head in his hand, feelings running over him again. Feelings that were long forgotten. 

He looked to her green luminescent eyes to her lips that looked to be carved from marble. They were soft and delicate, gentle and fragile. He hesitantly leaned in, pulling her closer though he felt the compliance come from her side as well. Their lips brushed, feelings each other's breath on their lips and they threw caution to the wind as their lips locked. The connection felt like an eternity long but was only a few moments. Marinette’s relationship with Adrien wasn’t clear, all that happened was a kiss and he seemed to be avoiding her, though her time away from him was very busy each day. 

As they both pulled away, they were unable to open their eyes, remaining in the trance of one another. A smile rolled across their faces, though it didn’t mean anything to the other. It was just a reaction to the heat of the moment. 

“What the fuck…” Two voices intersected. The two turned to the other side of the bridge to see Shelly and Fennick.

“Shelly! What are you doing out?” Ladynoire quickly got up, grabbing a firm hold of Shelly’s shoulders. 

“I was coming to find you, but here I find you, kissing up with the little pest,” Shelly looked over to see Fennick, staring back at her. 

“Alya…” He turned his nose up.

“Nino…” She did the same, narrowing her eyes as well. 

“It’s not what it looks like I promise, it didn’t mean anything,”

“Then why did you have Adr-” Shelly was cut short by Ladynoire's hand over her mouth. A muffled response came from the brunette. “Let’s just go…” Shelly took Ladynoires baton, extending it and quickly escaping, leaving Misterbug with his lecturing friend. 


	12. A Ice Cream Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien spend an ice-cream date together, which leads to an overnight stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This story contains some bad language and subtle suggestive themes. All characters are 23-25 but the characters in the show are 13-15.

“SHE WHAT?” Kagami exclaimed, hearing the news from Alya, not Marinette. 

“I caught her on the Pont d’léan with Misterbug,” Alya explained, standing next to Marinette who had her head hung low. 

“He didn’t just stop her on the spot?” Kagami asked, still processing the news. 

“No, I guess not,” 

“Well, we did have a conversion and he said he would fix my ring for me,” Marinette slowly looked to her friends, wearing a nervous smirk on her face. 

“I guess that’s the only good thing that came out of this. But you just had Adrien over and you said you guys kissed, right?” Chloe asked, leaning her weight over the counter. 

“Yeah but I think he’s been avoiding me,” 

“Have you tried talking to him?”

“No…” Her voice dropped to a guilty whisper. She was sure she felt something towards him, she just wasn’t sure what to say. Was it her high school crush coming back to haunt her? She mentally decided that she would pick up the routine of their weekly lunches together, hoping he wasn’t actually avoiding her and it was just a coincidence that he was busy, as was she. 

“Hello?” A voice answered from the phone that had been ringing for what felt like forever to Marinette. Alya, Kagami, and Chloe all sat in anticipation, waiting to hear a response to her upcoming question. 

“Hey Adrien, It’s me,” She said with a smile in her voice.

“Hey, sorry I haven’t been calling recently, I got really busy all of a sudden,” He explained. Marinette let out a sigh of relief. 

“Thank god, I thought you were avoiding me,” She let out a morbid laugh. 

“No, no, I would never do that,” He assured her. The conversation held between the two was comfortable and felt like any other one that had before the kiss. 

Alya quickly got tired of the dull topics and nudged for her to ask the question.

“Adrien, do you maybe want to come over sometime today?” Marinette asked nervously, she looked at the clock. 12:38 pm. Good. She still had the afternoon. 

“I’m free after 2:00, is that okay?” Adrien asked. He had a charity event to go to as Misterbug in 30 minutes. 

“Yeah, sure, I’ll see you then,” She excitedly hung up the phone, squealing with her friends. Despite being a fear crime boss throughout Paris, she did maintain her excitement from her high school years. 

  
  


As Adrien stood in Marinette’s kitchen after being let in by Chloe, He took notice of a very expensive looking bracelet, one that was recently stolen from a museum. He assumed it was a meer duplicate and that it belonged to Chloe. Marinette seemed to have no interest in materialistic things. 

“Okay, I’m ready,” Marinette smiled, stepping into the kitchen while adjusting her earrings. The dress she wore nearly took Adrien’s breath away, the pink fabric flowing out as it hit her waist. Sure he was a former model and he had seen more expensive-looking designs but he had taken a taste for simpler designs he had seen throughout his years. 

His face felt warm and he felt like he was going to melt if he stared for a second longer, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. “Um, okay, let’s go,” He looked away to scratch his nose.

  
  


They walked throughout the park, watching as little kids and their parents played cheerfully. The sun gazing down over the city made for a beautiful, but equally uncomfortably hot day. He was thankful for the bench they sat on that was covered by a tall tree that stood above them. The clear sky and slight breeze made it his perfect day, added with the fact that he was sitting with the person he loved. Wait. Loved?

“Do you want an ice cream?” Marinette asked, pulling out her wallet as she stood up. Her look of astonishment on her face made him realize that he was staring. The ice cream cart that now stood at the gates of the park had a colourful pastel sign, attracting a line of children who ran excitedly while dragging their parents along. 

“Sure,” He smiled, taking out his own wallet. 

He looked at the rather small menu, searching for his go-to flavour, melted snowman. She ordered a vanilla scoop on a cone and the man smiled and scooped up their respective flavours. 

“No, I’ll pay,” She insisted, pushing his wallet away gently. Before he could protest, she handed the man two $5 bills, covering for both of the ice cream cones. 

“I’ll pay you back, okay?” Adrien smiled nervously as he took his cone from the man’s hand. 

“No, It’s fine, you can pay me back by promising to be less busy,” She teased. She knew he couldn’t make it a solid promise, managing a large company was hard work. 

“I’ll try…” He smiled as they sat back in the shade of the tree. 

  
  


The rest of the afternoon they spent together went quickly, unfortunately for both of them. Adrien wanted to be around Marinette as much as he could, and so did Marinette. 

“Well, I guess this is goodbye,” She smiled softly, slipping her hand into his as she stood in the doorway of her apartment. 

“Yeah, but I don’t want you to go,” Adrien explained with sorrowful eyes. His eyes resembled an anime character. Big and full of life, practically sparkling in the yellow-tinted light that stood in the hallway. 

“Well, how about you stay overnight? You don’t have any work tomorrow, do you?” She asked, looking quickly behind her. She knew that Alya and Kagami wouldn’t be happy about this last-minute decision but they could live with it. 

“No, but are you sure?” 

“Yeah, but my roommates are already asleep I think, let me check,” Marinette led Adrien inside, letting him wait by the shoe rack, as she quietly opened a separate door he had never noticed before. She seemed to whisper something quietly, only to earn a small groan from behind the door. Was it Chloe’s bedroom? No. Marinette mentioned how tiring sharing a room with her was, so did she have another roommate she wasn’t telling him about?


	13. The smell of expensive wine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night Adrien and Marinette spent together was followed by a nerve-wracking morning after. Not to mention their hungover states.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This story contains some bad language and subtle suggestive themes. All characters are 23-25 but the characters in the show are 13-15.

As Adrien sat in Marinette’s bedroom, after convincing Chloe to sleep on the couch, he noticed the smell of expensive wine float through the room. Marinette stood with two glasses of wine balanced in one hand, and a long bottle of Ramnista in the other. 

“Mari, how did you afford this?” Adrien asked, remembering the expensive label from a dinner party with clients. Marinette almost immediately started panicking. There was no way a part-time job at a family-owned bakery could pay for this. An excuse left her lips as fast as it crossed her mind.

“My grandmother got it for me while travelling, she gave it to me when I turned 18,” She lied. She paid for it using the money stolen from a bank a few weeks ago. Adrien nodded, agreeing with the subtle lie and taking the glasses from her hands and placing them on her desk and pouring the wine into each cup. 

As few bad choices and half a bottle of Ramnista later, Adrien and Marinette were giggling at whatever the other said. Adrien’s drunken flirting skills had somehow managed to convince Marinette to kiss him, though Marinette was a part of convincing herself. 

“Adrien, I have to be honest, you kind of look like Misterbug,” Marinette slurred her words, her body swaying back and forth as she sat on the bed with Adrien. 

“That’s because I am him, see?” Adrien led her hand to his ears, her finger searching for the cold metal earrings. 

“Really? Well, I am Ladynoire, a pleasure to meet you,” She mocked a fancy, snobby voice while bowing. 

“Then I’m gonna arrest you,” He smiled, pointing finger guns at her as she lazily threw her arms into the air. “Pew pew,” His voice imitated a 7-year old boy, playing with his toy guns.

“Adrien, I’m going, to be honest,” Marinette gave up the facade, placing an arm on his bicep. “I really like you, and I did in high school too but…” She paused, letting out a small hiccup from the alcohol. “I don’t want you to be in trouble with other people who have it against me,” 

“I really like you too,” He smiled. The smell of alcohol filled the room, making the moment appear more intoxicating to the two. 

  
  


The smell of the alcohol had left through the opened window throughout the night, leaving a smell of vaguely familiar cologne. 

Cologne?

Marinette never wore cologne or perfume for the matter. She sat up, rubbing her eyes as she slipped out of bed. The blonde that was sleeping soundly beside her hadn’t noticed that his shirt was missing until he awoke in her bed, the smell of pancakes coming from the kitchen mixed with small chatter. 

“Holy shit. How much did you drink last?” A voice said faintly, covered by the sound of a microwave cooking. 

“I don’t know. We drank the Raminsta,” Marinette’s small voice stood out to him as he pulled his loose shorts over his hips.

“You drank-” Someone else sighed, almost sounding like…... Kagami? But Kagami was last seen with Ladynoire as Ryuko. Was someone living with them Ladynoire? “That was supposed to be mine,” 

_ Mine? I thought it was Marinette’s? _ He thought, finally having the courage to leave her room. The door creaked as it opened. All he could see was Marinette sitting at the table, wide-eyed with shock and looking at someone else. 

“Shit. He’s awake,” A voice whispered. Chloe quickly led Alya out the door, leaving her there until he wasn’t able to see her come back in. They could easily say that Kagami lived nearby, their civilian selves didn’t know Kagami was Ryuko. 

“Good morning,” He smiled, entering the kitchen just as the front door closed quickly. 

“Morning,” Marinette stood up in a nervous panic, attempting to hide Kagami. Though it wouldn’t work, there was no harm in delaying his reaction to seeing her. Marinette landed a kiss on his cheek before making her way to the kitchen. 

Adrien’s eyes landed on his shirt that sat on Marinette’s body. “Did you take my shirt?” He asked.

“Oh, yeah sorry,”

“No it’s fine, it looks cute on you,” Adrien admitted. Marinette blushed, turning back to the sink as she filled a cup with water, Chloe holding back laughter at the sentiment of calling a criminal ‘cute’. His train of thought was derailed by the sight of Kagami, searching through the fridge. “Kagami?” The name left his mouth. 

“Oh, yeah, Kagami lives around here and she just stopped by to get some food,” Marinette explained, keeping her rapid thoughts of panic under control as much as she could. 

“O-oh, how has life been treating you?” He felt that recently, he had seen most of his high school friends. First Marinette, then Alya, Chloe and now Kagami.

“Good, do you still see Nino?” Kagami seemed to smirk slightly as she glared at Marinette with a mischievous gleam in her eye. 

“Yeah, We are actually living together,” Adrien smiled, not thinking of the actions of his consequences. If she had found out where he lived, she could tell Ladynoire and possibly find the miracle box. 

“Oh,” Her voice trailed. “Cool,”

He noticed Marinette quickly turn her attention from her eggs on the plate in front of her to Chloe. “Holy shit.” Her face screamed. 

_ Holy shit. _ Chloe thought. 

“O-oh, What does Nino do now?” Marinette stumbled over her words, trying to act nonchalant while getting information out of Adrien. She knew that he most likely had no idea Nino was a superhero but maybe Nino had a side job they could ‘visit’ him at. 

“Until he can find a job for his DJing career, he’s stuck at the museum just down the street from here,” Adrien wasn’t lying, Nino did manage a part-time internship at the museum. Marinette nodded as she pressed her lips together, internalizing the vital information for later. 


	14. Looking for a sly fox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien tries to visit Nino at work but is only met by Ladynoire and her team also looking for Nino.

Adrien pushed open the glass door to the museum, expecting to see Nino who was usually stationed at the front desk, except a lady dressed in professional clothing with boring hues, stood at the computer, tapping in codes for the gift shop. 

“Excuse me?” Adrien asked, grabbing the lady’s attention. “Is Nino working today?” 

“No, he called in sick,” The lady responded before going back to helping customers and their excited children. 

“ _ Odd _ .” He thought. He hadn’t seen Nino all day, and if he was sick he would’ve been at home. “ _ Maybe he’s out for patrols, though I didn’t tell him he had to go out today,”  _ Adrien brushed off his absences. If Nino was in trouble he would’ve known by now. 

As Adrien turned around to leave through the same way he came in, he saw Ladynoire and her team, pushing through the doors and shooting a hole in the roof. In reaction to the deafening sound of the gunshot, Adrien quickly crouched down, wondering why they were here. A museum wasn’t the place they would go for unless something valuable was there. “Okay people, we are looking for our friend,” Shelly shouted, cocking her rifle as she lowered it from its position facing the roof to facing the lady at the desk. “Maybe you can help us out?” She continued. The lady shook in fear, holding her hands in the air. 

Adrien frantically looked around for a place to transform where Ladynoire wouldn’t see him. The action seemed impossible but it was worth the try. As Adrien carefully inched towards a nearby hallway, his back to the criminals, he heard a nickname being called out by Ladynoire. 

“Hey, blondie, stand up and turn around for us slowly,” Ladynoire instructed. Adrien placed his hands in the air, slowly standing up and turning around, as instructed. As he turned around, he saw the barrel of a pistol pointed at him and Ladynoire’s finger on the trigger. Her green eyes grew wider as she realized who was standing in front of her.

“Adrien?” She whispered, low enough so he wouldn’t hear it. Ladynoire stood in conflict, staring at him. If she let him go, someone would be suspicious of her actions and if she killed him, she would be killing the love of her life. Before Adrien could ask any questions, Ladynoire lowered her gun and turned back around. “J-just sit right there and you won’t get hurt,”

“Ok, I will ask one more time,” Shelly threw her rifle to the side and grabbed the pistol that Ladynoire held over Shelly’s shoulder, continuing to point it at the lady. “Where is Nino Lahiffe?” She shot another bullet into the air, terrifying the other customers even more. 

Was Alya looking for her ex-boyfriend? and why? Had they found out where he worked? And if they did, how? Maybe they were just guessing or maybe they followed Nino. Wait. Adrien had told Marinette where he worked, right in front of Kagami. But Kagami or Ryuko was nowhere to be found. 

Well, that was a problem for later, he couldn’t do anything about it until he warned Nino but he had to focus on what just happened? Why did Ladynoire spare him? She would have shot someone right then and there if they tried something funny. He knew from a visual experience. 

Luckily, Sting was able to drop in, seeing Adrien and helping him out with the other hostages. But before Sting could get back from behind the stationed police barricades, Ladynoire and Shelly had already abandoned the scene, taking off without a trace.

  
  
  


“Wait, I’m confused. You’re telling me that she just lowered her gun at the mere sight of you?” Nino asked, trying to understand Adrien’s story more. 

“Yes,”

“Was she delusional?” He exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. 

“Maybe her cracked ring had something to do with it,” Luka chuckled, slumping onto the couch. That’s right. He still needed to find a way to fix her ring. He needed to find a way to ask Tikki, who would definitely be against the idea. 

“Maybe she knew you as a civilian and had a-” Nino paused mid-sentence, an awful thought crossing his mind. 

“Had a what?” Luka asked, sitting up suddenly.

“Had a soft spot for you,” Nino looked at Adrien in his lily pad eyes, the bluenette who had been dating him for about a month now crossing Adrien’s mind as well.

“There’s no way she could be Ladynoire,” Adrien didn’t even want to believe it, the woman he loved was also a mastermind criminal who had been taunting them for two years. 

“We were all surprised that Alya was Shelly,” Nino shrugged, still toying with the idea of Marinette being Ladynoire. 

“Wait.” Adrien sat up, realizing who was close to Marinette. “Kagami was with her one day, and they never got along in high school,”

“Holy shit.” Nino looked to Luka, then to Adrien. 

“There is a good chance that Marinette is still in contact with Alya and is possibly Ladynoire,” Luka explained, standing up in realization. 

  
  
  
  


Weeks after the museum incident, Misterbug and Fennick were left powerless after being defeated by Ladynoire and Ryuko. Misterbug struggled against the sharp wire that Ryuko’s wind tied around him effortlessly, while Fennick was left unconscious in the arms of Ladynoire. Ladynoire watched as Nino’s necklace beeped, and his transformation fled. She rolled him out of her arms, placing him gently on the ground. 

“I always did like Nino, such a talented soul,”

“So you know him, personally?” Misterbug cocked an eyebrow, trying to invoke a reaction from the black cat. 

“Yes…” Ladynoire cooed, knowing that Misterbug was only trying to set something off inside of her. Ryuko looked over her shoulder from her gaze over the city, panicked about her answer. 

“Well, that narrows down the possibilities by a smaller percentage then I thought,” Misterbug’s smirk rolled into a Chesire grin. Ladynoire’s heart rate quickened and her chest felt heavy. She tried to mutter out an excuse, leaving her mouth agape. 

“Ladynoire…” Ryuko placed her hand on the leather of Ladynoire’s shoulder, easing her from the shock. “C’mon here,” Ryuko pulled Ladynoire away, the ladder still eyeing Misterbug’s grin as she looked over her shoulder. 

“Marinette, he’s just trying to get to you, I can’t have you lashing out again,” Ryuko whispered as she held onto Ladynoire’s shoulders with a firm grasp. Her eyes were darting back and forth between Ladynoire and Misterbug. It was strange for Misterbug, seeing her teammates ‘baby’ her now that she wielded a broken miraculous. 

“I know, but he just…”

“Gets on your nerves, spoils your milk...kitty?” Misterbug teased, butting into the conversation. Ladynoire remembered Ryuko’s previous words, but they couldn’t hold her back. She quickly whipped around, her braid lashing her in the face that was sure to leave a whiplash. Ryuko’s arms latched under Ladynoire’s armpits, letting the cat get her anger out in the form of scratching at the air and making hollow threats. 

As Ladynoire’s anger cooled, she began to pace back and forth in front of Misterbug, his eyes watching her every move. "I could lecture you on how I am going to kill everyone you love, take away your fame and luxuries and how your time has come to be defeated blah blah blah," Ladynoire spun her wrists in a circular motion as she explained her plan. “Or I could do this,” She called upon her cataclysm, taking the fox chain from around Nino’s neck before turning it to dust. Misterbug’s heart dropped, praying in his mind that he would be able to fix what was left of the miraculous. 

“Have fun, pretty boy. The police should be here soon,” Ryuko waved lazily to him, not bothering to turn around as she slumped the duffle bag full of priceless artifacts over her shoulder. The two criminals leapt from the building's rooftop, disappearing just before the cops showed.

Misterbug struggled to get out of his wired prison before the cops came looking for him, finding Nino and the destroyed miraculous. He felt the thorns of the wire poke and scratch at his suit, soon tearing his skin open. 

“If I could just-” Misterbug said to himself, looking around him. The broken glass shards from a broken window caught his eyes in the glimmer of the moonlight. The blonde quickly crawled his way toward the glass, taking a piece of glass gently in his hands and sawing at the wire. 

As Misterbug cut the last notch of wire, he quickly grabbed Nino, slumping him over his shoulder and scooping the dust pile into his hands and leaving the rooftop.


	15. The Last Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Nino are left in shock when Luka makes a bold choice after an emotional reveal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This chapter contains major character death.

Ladynoire scaled the news channel building, mindful of the alarm that was set inside. If she managed to crack the window in any way, the alarm would sound and their plan to take down Misterbug once and for all would be ruined. The snow fell over her, sending a shiver down her back. The cold breeze that blew through her braid was chilling but the sight of the city being covered with white fluffy snow was beautiful. Ladynoir finally reached the rooftop, landing nimbly on the gritty texture. 

“Okay, I’m going in,” Ladynoire said through her earpiece. 

“Good, The alarm system controls are in the small room on the roof,” Ryuko said back, Ladynoire spotting the room and carefully breaking the lock with a blowtorch that was given to her. Though no one trusted her with a blow torch, no one else was able to climb the roof without being noticed. Her black suit did help to blend in with the jet black sky behind her. 

The lock was almost off its chain when Ladynoire heard footsteps behind her. 

“Going somewhere?” The obscured silhouette said. Ladynoire squinted her eyes to see Misterbug, standing with a smirk on his face. Ladynoire smirked. The plan to lead him here was successful, and he didn’t realize the trap. 

“Yeah, I was in the neighbourhood and thought I would watch the news channel while I was at it,” Ladynoire said, quick with a retort. “Guys, step one is done, commence step two,” Ladynoire said under her breath, barely moving her lips so Misterbug wasn’t suspicious.

“Crazy, I was doing the same thing,” Another voice chimed in. Fennick appeared by Ladynoire, smiling widely while he raised the chain from his neck. Misterbug had managed to fix it with Tikki’s power merged with a special serum he mixed with the dust of the miraculous. 

“Oh?” Ladynoire’s ears perked up. “You managed to fix it pretty boy,” The corner of her mouth raised to a proud grin as she circled around him, her braid acting as a tail as it trailed around his body. 

“Aw, that’s too bad. Fennick was always annoying to me,” Queen Cobra trailed her arms down Fennick’s chest from behind. Misterbug looked down at Ladynoire’s gaze, her smile so cat-like that he felt her purr against his chest. Or, maybe she was actually purring. 

“You thought I’d be dumb enough to come alone?” Shelly soon appeared and so did Ryuko, four against two. Well, that was true until Sting showed up. 

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road,” Sting smiled, nudging Misterbug in the arm. 

As they fought, Ladynoire felt her body weaken, the crack in her ring still affecting her. She couldn’t let herself lose, not now. Their plan was working so well and they were so close. As Misterbug called upon his lucky charm, Ladynoire made a quick change in their plans, calling upon her cataclysm at the same time. 

As the red and black object fell from the sky. Before Misterbug could analyze possible plans for the object, Ladynoire quickly grabbed it, turning the towel to dust. “W-what?” Misterbug stumbled back. Ladynoire heaved from the exhaustion of her cracked miraculous and the exhaustion of using cataclysm. Her laughter slowed, as she wiped her forehead of sweat. 

“I didn’t know if it would work but-” She paused, looking from her hand to Misterbug’s terrified look. It was only a matter of time before he lost his spots and would be revealed to everyone. “It did,” 

“You bitch!” His adrenaline-boosting his frustration, he pounced on Ladynoire, pinning her wrist against the concrete ground and quickly slipping the ring off her slender fingers and placed it in his pocket before looking down at the dishevelled figure. “Marinette?”

The name set Shelly’s, Queen Cobra and Ryuko’s attention off, quickly turning to stare at the pair. Fennick and Sting did the same with the same expression as Misterbug. Sure they suspected her of being Ladynoire months ago and Adrien had kept a close eye on her, but the realization finally hit them. Ladynoire was Marinette. 

“What? Not what you expected? Well, here I am,” Marinette stood, Misterbug letting go of her wrist in shock. Ryuko took the chance of Fennick’s panic-induced shock to take him down, grabbing the miraculous from him. 

“W-What?” Sting said, using Ryuko’s same strategy to take down Shelly. Misterbug’s spots fell and Adrien quickly turned to help Nino up, seeing Ryuko now gone. Marinette’s reveal had put plan B into action. Find the miraculous box at any cost. As Adrien turned back to Marinette, he stared down the barrel of a pistol, Marinette’s eyes filling with tears. 

"I don't want to have to do this Adrien," Marinette said, tears now flooding down her face. “Just give me the miracle box and we can forget this ever happened,”

"You don't have to, just turn yourself in and we'll find a way to get you a reduced sentence,"

"You really think that will work? The system is corrupt,"

"I will make it work,"

“No, I’m done. Now, give me the ring or I’ll take it myself,”

“Mari, please,”

"I'm sorry Adrien..." 

Bang

And with the shot of the gun, Marinette fell to the ground, terror in her eyes as she watched her finale moments flash by her. Luka stood behind her, a flat face as he lowered his gun.


End file.
